small/compact budget android moto/pixel?

tiger135

Hi all , looking to upgrade from a moto g5 which surprisingly still runs reasonably well on android 8.1. just low on storage all the time.
my options:
-newer moto eg g8 power used/refurb £50/60 ebay etc
-brand new moto g13 £99 approx however these arent small anymore
-refurb google pixel 5 around £150 
never tried the pixel but heard good things.
i am a light user, just a few apps eg bbc sounds, banking, kindle.
thanks for any suggestions or advice.

EssexExile

Having recently gone from a Moto G8 to a Pixel 7a the only difference I've noticed is considerably shorter battery life with the Pixel. It still lasts me all day but it may not be enough for some.

tiger135

Thats interesting as the pixel is a lot more pricey. I feel like the moto g has always been a powerful phone for the money.

Riverstone58

EssexExile said:

Having recently gone from a Moto G8 to a Pixel 7a the only difference I've noticed is considerably shorter battery life with the Pixel. It still lasts me all day but it may not be enough for some.

You're forgetting that the 7a will be giving monthly security updates until at least May 2028.

Rather essential for banking amongst other uses  and you won't get anywhere near that with with any Moto, and that's if you're lucky (2 years max from launch). It will also be updated to at least Android 16 - Moto?

However that's somewhat over the ops budget. Furthermore the Pixel 5 and if I am correct is no longer receiving any further support as of October this year.

For the ops uses I would suggest having a look at the Samsung A14. It can be picked up for just under £150, or for a boost in performance the A14 5G which offers better performance and display and which can be picked up for around £220.

Each will receive security updates until 2027. Being at the budget end of Samsung's range these are currently on a quarterly basis but at some point these will be twice yearly. Finally they come with a 5000 ma battery which  offers outstanding battery life.

tiger135

Thanks so with security updates , will it still let you use the apps if your phone is out of date?
The only app I found wont work on my moto g5 android 8.1 is autotrader but I can find the apk for the last version that worked on 8.1 and install it manually  

Riverstone58

Android 8 (the current version is 14) is now 6 years old and less and less apps will be supported for it and able to function. 

Security updates have no relation to an apps ability to function but providing a phone is still supported by these are used to patch known security vulnerabilities. These are released on a monthly basis by Google but it's up to the individual manufacturer how often they release these for an individual device and for how long.

I personally would not be using online banking or making any online purchases using your current G5.

Grumpy_chap

tiger135 said:

Hi all , looking to upgrade from a moto g5 which surprisingly still runs reasonably well on android 8.1. just low on storage all the time.
my options:
-newer moto eg g8 power used/refurb £50/60 ebay etc
-brand new moto g13 £99 approx however these arent small anymore
-refurb google pixel 5 around £150 
never tried the pixel but heard good things.
i am a light user, just a few apps eg bbc sounds, banking, kindle.
thanks for any suggestions or advice.

I am watching this thread with interest.
My wife and I both previously had Moto G4, which did everything we needed a phone to do, competitive price and good size (especially with the slim case that was available).
We have progressed through the Moto G phones so I currently have G7 Power and she has G9.
We like the long battery life of the later phones which is the big gain over the G4, but the size is creeping progressively upwards.  The next phone we'll go for is the G13 or G32 but they really are quite large compared to the G4 that we started out with.
Plus, the covers all seem much bulkier now than the sleeve that the G4 had, so that is a double-whammy from a size perspective.
The newer phone have crept up in specification, but a lot of that is stuff that we would be happy without: multi-lens camera etc.
I believe there is a market for a smaller, but still powerful and long battery life phone.  Maybe I am in a minority.

tiger135

I agree gumpy chap, I will probably find a decent g8/9 and work my way up. I think you get used to things eventually. If I look at an old iphone 5 it looks tiny now! 

tiger135

grumpy how big are the g7 and g9? how do they perform still? surprisingly the g5 is still probably better than a new cheap handset eg nokia. 

tiger135

i see the g13 sim free is £99 now. is that worth going for or buy an older g8/g9 for about £50 ?

Supatramp

I had a G8 Plus, which is about 6.3" I think.  Just upgraded to a G84, which at 6.5" is only .2" bigger.  I don't notice the difference!